Australia's Devastating Floods Spotted from Space: Big Pics
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Jan. 13, 2011 -- This season's heavy precipitation has flooded cities and towns across Australia's southeast coast from Rockhampton to Brisbane and as far as 500 miles inland to the west. While the floods have not reached the historic levels seen in 1974, they are rivaling the records set in 1990 and 1991.
SEE ALSO: Floods Unleash Spiders, Snakes and Crocodiles
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported today that floodwaters have turned the center of the Queensland capital into a ghost town. Flashfloods have left several people dead and missing and are taxing water treatment facilities efforts to provide safe drinking water.
PLANET GREEN: Amazing Images of Earth From Space
The source of the precipitation is a combination punch of seasonal monsoon rains from the northwest coupled with stronger easterly trade winds tied to La Niña.
This NASA satellite image on top shows the inland town of Rockhampton in Queensland, Australia, where hundreds of homes remain underwater after the Fitzroy River peaked at 9.2 meters (30.2 feet) on Jan. 5. Capturing both infrared and visible light, the image shows plants as red; reflective surfaces, such as buildings and cloud, as white; muddy floodwater as brown; and clear water as black.
SEE ALSO: Damaged Ecosystems Amplify Killer Floods
The Google Maps image below shows Rockhampton before the recent flooding that inundated the Fitzroy River, seen here snaking through the city.
Photo credits: NASA (top); Google/USGS (bottom)
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